HISTORY OF THE YO-YO IS ALL UPS AND DOWNS

HISTORY OF THE YO-YO IS ALL UPS AND DOWNS

CHICO, Calif. (Wireless Flash) -- The history of the yo-yo has a lot in common with the toy itself -- it just keeps coming back. That's according to Bob Malowney of the National Yo-Yo Museum in Chico, California, who says the newly-hot toy first came to popularity nearly 3000 years ago in Greece. Back then, the loopy gadgets were made of copper or ceramic -- but the first yo-yos to catch on in America were wooden ones made in the 1920s by a Filipino man named Pedro Flores. Other interesting facts about the stringy toy... -- The name "yo-yo" means "come, come" in the Filipino dialect of Tagalog. -- In the latter part of the 19th century, the French would refer to a yo-yo as a "l'immigrant," because of its tendency to return again and again like an immigrant. -- And, finally, there are reports that ancient Filipinos outfitted yo-yos with blades and used them as weapons to hunt prey -- but Malowney thinks the stories were really dreamed up by modern yo-yo manufacturers.